Police officer dead in US shooting

At least two deaths reported in incident near a nightclub in the northeastern city of Baltimore.

09 Jan 2011 13:28 GMT

Two people, including a police officer, have been killed in a shooting near a nightclub in the northeastern US city of Baltimore.

Authorities say a 33-year-old police officer and another man died in the shooting in the state of Maryland early on Sunday.

Reports of a fight at the club brought officers to the scene, where six people were shot during an eruption of gunfire.

Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman, declined to immediately identify the victims by name.

A second officer suffered a shot to one leg and three women were also injured. There were no reports on their conditions.

Guglielmi said officers were called to a club in Baltimore's business district after a report of a large fight and summoned additional officers. Some officers fired weapons and investigators are trying to determine whether there was any civilian gunfire.

"It was a pretty significant fight from what we understand. A large fight and a number of officers responded,'' Guglielmi told the Associated Press news agency. It ultimately spilled outside into the parking lot.''